scholarly journals Impact of soil erosion on production in cropping systems .II. Simulation of production and erosion risks for a wheat cropping system

Soil Research ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 775 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Littleboy ◽  
DM Freebairn ◽  
GL Hammer ◽  
DM Silburn

Maintenance of productive soil base by minimizing soil erosion is vital to long-term crop production. In this study, a modelling approach is used to estimate effects of soil erosion on productivity for a wheat cropping system at three locations in northeast Australia, Emerald, Dalby and Gunnedah. Predictions of erosion, runoff and yield decline due to erosion for variations in initial soil depth, slope and fallow management strategy are presented. Rates of yield decline were highest at Emerald due to summer dominance of rainfall resulting in higher runoff during summer fallow periods. On average, soil depth decreased by 0.35 cm year-1 at Emerald, 0.25 cm year-1 at Dalby and 0.1 cm year-1 at Gunnedah for a 5.0% slope, 100 cm initial soil depth and a disc/chisel fallow management strategy. Rates of soil removal and subsequent yield decline were higher for shallower soils, steeper slopes and if management practices provided less stubble cover during the fallow. The productivity half-life concept shows that the productive life of the soil was less than 100 years for some soil depth, climate, slope and management combinations. For other combinations, significant yield decline was predicted after 100 years of cropping. The quantification of erosion-productivity relationships allows us to identify regions of higher risk, to estimate the utility of management options, and provide a basis for focusing research and development of management strategies to preserve long-term production.

Soil Research ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Littleboy ◽  
AL Cogle ◽  
GD Smith ◽  
KPC Rao ◽  
DF Yule

Maintenance of a productive soil base by minimizing soil erosion is vital to long-term crop production. In this study, a modelling approach is used to estimate the effects of soil erosion on productivity for a sorghum cropping system on an Alfisol in the semi-arid tropics of India. Predictions of erosion, runoff and yield decline due to erosion, for variations in initial soil depth, slope, tillage strategy and amendment treatment, are presented. On average, soil depth decreased by 0.91 cm/year at Hyderabad for a 10% slope, 80 cm initial soil depth, shallow tillage at planting and no surface amendment. Rates of soil removal and subsequent yield decline were higher for shallower soils, steeper slopes and if management practices provided less surface cover during the crop. The productive life of the soil was less than 91 years for some soil depths, slope and management combinations. For other combinations, significant yield decline was predicted after 91 years of cropping. The quantification of erosion-productivity relationships allows us to identify regions with a higher risk of degradation from soil erosion and to estimate the impact of various management options on long-term sustainability. Models provide a basis to focus research and a means of assessing alternative management strategies to preserve long-term production.* Part III, Aust. J. Soil Res. 1996, 34, 113–125.


Author(s):  
AKINJIDE MOSES AFOLABI ◽  
JOSEPH IKECHUKWU MUOGHALU ◽  
EZEKIEL DARE OLOWOLAJU ◽  
FATIMOH OZAVIZE ADEMOH

Objectives: This study investigates nutrients stock and some soil indices of agro-ecosystem soil as affected by monoculture cropping system (cacao plantation). This was with a view to provide comprehensive understanding of soil nutrient dynamics in the ecosystems due to their different management practices. Methods: The study was carried out in 0.063 ha sample plots, three each in natural forests and cacao plantations adjacent to each other. In each plot, five core soil samples were randomly collected at two depths (0–15 and 15–30 cm), bulked according to depth, air-dried, sieved through 2 mm sieve, and analyzed for soil physicochemical properties using standard methods. One-way analysis of variance was used to test significant mean differences of the soil properties among cacao plantation and natural forest at probability level (p≤0.05) at different soil depth. Results: The results showed that soil physical properties such as particle size distribution, moisture contents, and bulk density; chemical properties such as pH, exchangeable cation, organic carbon, organic matter, phosphorus, and sulfur from natural forest were higher than the soil properties in cacao plantation for both top and subsoil. Soil indices such as soil structural stability index, base saturation percentage, and sodium adsorption ratio were higher in natural forest ecosystem than the soil indices of cacao plantation. Conclusion: From this study, it can be concluded that long-term monoculture cropping system had significant effect on nutrients stock and soil indices. This subsequently might result in permanent soil degradation and productivity.


Author(s):  
Félicien Majoro ◽  
Umaru Garba Wali ◽  
Omar Munyaneza ◽  
François-Xavier Naramabuye ◽  
Concilie Mukamwambali

Soil erosion is an environmental concern that affects agriculture, wildlife and water bodies. Soil erosion can be avoided by maintaining a protective cover on the soil to create a barrier to the erosive agent or by modifying the landscape to control runoff amounts and rates. This research is focused on Sebeya catchment located in the Western Province of Rwanda. Sebeya catchment is one of the most affected areas by soil erosion hazards causing loss of crops due to the destruction of agricultural plots or riverbanks, river sedimentation and damages to the existing water treatment and hydropower plants in the downstream part of the river. The aims of this research were to assess the performance of erosion remediation measures and to propose the Best Management Practices (BMPs) for erosion control in Sebeya catchment. Using literature review, site visits, questionnaire and interviews, various erosion control measures were analyzed in terms of performance and suitability. Land slope and soil depth maps were generated using ArcGIS software. The interview results indicated that among the 22 existing soil erosion control measures, about 4.57% of farmers confirmed their existence while 95.43% expressed the need of their implementation in Sebeya catchment. Furthermore, economic constraints were found to be the main limitative factors against the implementation of soil erosion control measures in Sebeya catchment. Also, the majority of farmers suggest trainings and mobilization of a specialized technical team to assist them in implementing soil conservation measures and to generalize the application of fertilizers in the whole catchment. Finally, soil erosion control measures including agro-forestry, terraces, mulching, tree planting, contour bunds, vegetative measures for slopes and buffer zones, check dams, riverbanks stabilization were proposed and recommended to be implemented in Sebeya catchment. Keywords: Erosion control measures, Sebeya catchment, Rwanda


2021 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 103362
Author(s):  
Umme Aminun Naher ◽  
Md Mozammel Haque ◽  
Faruk Hossain Khan ◽  
Md Imran Ullah Sarkar ◽  
Tahmid Hossain Ansari ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 117862211983940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino ◽  
José María Senciales ◽  
José Antonio Sillero-Medina ◽  
Yeboah Gyasi-Agyei ◽  
José Damián Ruiz-Sinoga ◽  
...  

New trends related to market incomes, cultural human development, non-sustainable soil management practices, and climate change are affecting land abandonment in Mediterranean sloping vineyards. It is generally accepted that hydrological processes and, subsequently, soil erosion rates are usually different between cultivated and abandoned soils. However, these alterations are still poorly studied in relation to the general weather conditions in vineyards and abandoned vineyards. Thus, the main goals of this research are to (1) estimate the differences in soil properties, (2) quantify water and soil losses due to rainfall and specific soil management practices, and (3) analyze which kind of weather type and rainfall event is able to generate specific surface flows and soil loss rates. To achieve these goals, we focused on the specific case of the sloping vineyards of the Montes de Málaga (South Spain). We used 4 paired-erosion plots with Gerlach troughs to quantify soil loss and surface flow and conducted an analysis of the weather conditions during each rainfall event. The weather types that generated the highest amount of rainfall in the studied area came from the western (32.6%) and southeast (28.2%) types. The low rainfall events came from the south type (5.9%) and at the 500 hPa level, whereas the rainiest ones came from the southwest (47.7%) and south (34.1%). It is confirmed that there is a bimodality in the rainfall patterns. The results of soil erosion showed that there is a mixed mechanism depending on the state of the soil (vegetation cover, compaction, and initial soil moisture), soil management (tillage, trampling effect, and the use of herbicides). It is observed that the intensity of surface flow is highly correlated to the total rainfall amount and intensity. In the poorly managed abandoned plot, it is important to remark that the effect of tillage in the past, the elimination of the vegetation cover to preserve the soil in bare condition, and its use as a grazing area by cultivating barley highly affects the generation of the highest erosive events. Therefore, it is confirmed that these soil management options are not the most sustainable way to conserve the soil after the abandonment of cultivation.


2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Moeller ◽  
Mustafa Pala ◽  
Ahmad M. Manschadi ◽  
Holger Meinke ◽  
Joachim Sauerborn

Assessing the sustainability of crop and soil management practices in wheat-based rotations requires a well-tested model with the demonstrated ability to sensibly predict crop productivity and changes in the soil resource. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) suite of models was parameterised and subsequently used to predict biomass production, yield, crop water and nitrogen (N) use, as well as long-term soil water and organic matter dynamics in wheat/chickpea systems at Tel Hadya, north-western Syria. The model satisfactorily simulated the productivity and water and N use of wheat and chickpea crops grown under different N and/or water supply levels in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 experimental seasons. Analysis of soil-water dynamics showed that the 2-stage soil evaporation model in APSIM’s cascading water-balance module did not sufficiently explain the actual soil drying following crop harvest under conditions where unused water remained in the soil profile. This might have been related to evaporation from soil cracks in the montmorillonitic clay soil, a process not explicitly simulated by APSIM. Soil-water dynamics in wheat–fallow and wheat–chickpea rotations (1987–98) were nevertheless well simulated when the soil water content in 0–0.45 m soil depth was set to ‘air dry’ at the end of the growing season each year. The model satisfactorily simulated the amounts of NO3-N in the soil, whereas it underestimated the amounts of NH4-N. Ammonium fixation might be part of the soil mineral-N dynamics at the study site because montmorillonite is the major clay mineral. This process is not simulated by APSIM’s nitrogen module. APSIM was capable of predicting long-term trends (1985–98) in soil organic matter in wheat–fallow and wheat–chickpea rotations at Tel Hadya as reported in literature. Overall, results showed that the model is generic and mature enough to be extended to this set of environmental conditions and can therefore be applied to assess the sustainability of wheat–chickpea rotations at Tel Hadya.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 915-927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Lindsay ◽  
Michael Popp ◽  
Jason Norsworthy ◽  
Muthukumar Bagavathiannan ◽  
Stephen Powles ◽  
...  

Palmer amaranth is the most troublesome weed problem in mid-southern US crop production. Herbicides continue to be the most commonly employed method for managing Palmer amaranth, despite the weed’s widespread resistance to them. Therefore, farmers need research and extension efforts that promote the adoption of integrated weed management (IWM) techniques. Producers, crop consultants, educators, and researchers would be more likely to deploy diversified chemical and nonchemical weed management options if they are more informed about long-term biological and economic implications via user-friendly decision-support software. Described within is a recently developed software that demonstrates the effects of Palmer amaranth management practices on soil seedbank, risk of resistance evolution, and economics over a 10-year planning horizon. Aiding this objective is a point-and-click interface that provides feedback on resistance risk, yield potential, profitability, soil seedbank dynamics, and error checking of management options.


2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Allen ◽  
P. M. Bloesch ◽  
R. A. Cowley ◽  
T. G. Orton ◽  
J. E. Payne ◽  
...  

Fire and grazing are commonplace in Australian tropical savannas and the effects of these management practices on soil organic carbon stocks (SOC) is not well understood. A long-term (20 years) experiment studying the effects of fire on a grazed semi-arid tropical savanna was used to increase this understanding. Treatments, including frequency of fire (every 2, 4 and 6 years), season of fire [early (June) vs late (October) dry season] and unburnt control plots, were imposed on Vertosol grassland and Calcarosol woodland sites, which were grazed. Additionally long-term enclosures [unburnt (except the Calcarosol in 2001) and ungrazed since 1973] on each soil type adjacent to each site were sampled, although not included in statistical analyses. SOC stocks were measured to a soil depth of 0.3 m using a wet oxidation method (to avoid interference by carbonates) and compared on an equivalent soil mass basis. Significant treatment differences in SOC stocks were tested for, while accounting for spatial background variation within each site. SOC stocks (0–0.3 m soil depth) ranged between 10.1 and 28.9 t ha–1 (Vertosol site) and 20.7 and 54.9 t ha–1 (Calcarosol site). There were no consistent effects of frequency or season of fire on SOC stocks, possibly reflecting the limited statistical power of the study and inherent spatial variability observed. Differences in the response to frequency and season of fire observed between these soils may have been due to differences in clay type, plant species composition and/or preferential grazing activity associated with fire management. There may also have been differences in C input between treatments and sites due to differences in the herbage mass and post-fire grazing activity on both sites and changed pasture composition, higher herbage fuel load, and a reduction in woody cover on the Vertosol site. This study demonstrated the importance of accounting for background spatial variability and treatment replication (in the absence of baseline values) when assessing SOC stocks in relation to management practices. Given the absence of baseline SOC values and the potentially long period required to obtain changes in SOC in rangelands, modelling of turnover of SOC in relation to background spatial variability would enable management scenarios to be considered in relation to landscape variation that may be unrelated to management. These considerations are important for reducing uncertainty in C-flux accounting and to provide accurate and cost-effective methods for land managers considering participation in the C economy.


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